After being named the best restaurant in the world twice in a row, the crew of Noma has some proving to do to get back their title after placing second.
Run by head chef René Redzepi, Noma is a restaurant dedicated to serving food that is limited to the growing seasons and products of the Nordic region. Food must be able to grow in this area and must be in season for Redzepi and his team to make a dish from it. Their food comes in small portions and serves as a full experience of food rather than a meal. After a health code set back due to some food illnesses, Noma was ranked second in the yearly world restaurant ranking. This was a terrible blow to the staff and owners of Noma who had won first the previous two years. Determined to be better, they design a new restaurant work space and become even more creative with their palates of food and flavors. Through their creativity and determination, Rene Redzepi and his crew are able to win back their title and continue to cook their strictly Nordic food.
As a person who enjoys simple flavors and American sized portions, I've always been confused by the amount of attention "fancy" places like Norma get. It sky rockets the price of the meal and the food gets smaller. It serves as an experience rather than a meal. What I do find interesting, however, is the community that places like Norma exist within. They are highly competitive and critical. They find any way to bring each other down rather than help. They live for critical tastings and awards rather than daily customer satisfaction. It has always interested me. Noma's team, however, seems to work like a rather well oiled machine full of disciplines that I can't imagine learning which I believe is a great credit to the art of managing people. So maybe the food is not for me, but the community it's in is vastly interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment